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Secret docs loser to appear in court

Civil servant, intel docs, train seat

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The civil servant accused of leaving secret intelligence documents on a Waterloo to Surrey train will appear in court later this month.

Richard Jackson has been summoned to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates Court on 20 October 2008 to answer the following charge:

That on 9 day of June 2008 being a crown servant and by virtue of your position as such you had in your possession two documents which it would be an offence under any foregoing provisions of this Act to disclose. Without lawful authority you failed to take such care to prevent the unauthorised disclosure as a person in your position may reasonably be expected to take in contravention of S8(1) of the Official Secrets Act 1989.

Jackson, 37, is accused of leaving an orange envelope containing two documents prepared for the Joint Intelligence Committee on the train.

One of these related to the abilities of Iraq's security forces and one, on al-Qaeda's vulnerabilities, was marked: "UK Top Secret". The docs were found by a member of the public and handed to the BBC. Jackson was working for the Cabinet Office at the time, but was on secondment from the MoD.

Four days later it emerged that more sensitive documents, this time from the Treasury, were found on another Waterloo train on the same day. These related to terrorist funding and ways to defraud international payment systems.

Prosecutions under the Official Secrets Act require the consent of the Attorney General. ®